United Airlines Makes Emergency Landing in Costa Rica

Costa Rica News – United Airlines has not been getting very good press coverage lately and this will not help.

A United Airlines flight bound for Houston was forced to return to Costa Rica for a harrowing emergency landing after one of its engines overheated over the ocean, reports say.

Jody Genessy, a reporter who was on United Flight 1516, called it the “most frightening thing I’ve ever experienced,” Time reports.

He said the Boeing 737-800 circled over the ocean for an hour to burn fuel before attempting to land. Reports did not say how many people were on the plane.

We about crashed in an emergency landing before the pilot quickly pulled up. So scary,” Genessy said on Twitter after the incident.

United Airlines confirmed to People Magazine that the plane, Flight 1516, had returned to Costa Rica because of a “maintenance issue.”

“The plane landed safely and a new aircraft is being sent to take customers to Houston tomorrow,” the airline said in a statement to People. “We apologize to all customers on board for their experience and will be providing compensation for the inconvenience.”

The reported emergency landing comes two weeks after United Airlines became embroiled in controversy because of the forced removal of a passenger from a flight.